Merideth Alma (more commonly known simply as Meri) is the main protagonist of the Golden Soul series. She is the eighth and final warrior to be named Golden Soul, and is the most powerful in Ayura. She is one of the only two Golden Souls to have power over both light and shadow. She first appeared in Golden Soul I: Rise of a Legend, and is set to make her first crossover appearance in Fantendo Coliseum.

Meri makes her first crossover appearence in the Fantendo Smash Bros spin-off Fantendo Coliseum. Her moveset is heavily based off her moves and abilities from Rise of a Legend with some elements from further games, most notably Eclipsed Skies. She is among the twelve heroes required to open the Great Coliseum.

Powers and Abilities

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

Merideth is skilled with swords and weapons of the like as she has been interested in the art of swordsmanship and was trained by her father since a young age. However, she also has experience with other weapons, mostly notably the bow and spear. She shows excellent aim with both weapons and can often hit targets within her first shot. She can also use heavier weapons, such as clubs and giant swords, but has noticeable difficulty in doing so. Meri is inexperienced in hand to hand combat, but will still turn to it as a last resort.

The Soulblades, the primary weapons of Meri, are her most valuable tool in combat. She obtains the first sword, the Alpha Soulblade, in Rise of a Legend, and is considered her primary weapon throughout the series. It has power over the element of light and allows Meri to fire magical light beams, though only one at a time and must be recharged after constant use. It can also be thrust into the ground and released to unleash a wave of energy, though this too requires charge. The second, the Omega Soulblade, obtained in Eclipsed Skies, has power over shadow and provides similar abilities to the light blade, only shadow-based. The two can be combined to create the Blade of Legends, which has the power over both light and shadow. Merideth often wields a shield in battle as well, but she only does so when wielding a sword, as she never uses one when wielding other weapons and ditches the shield when using both Soulblades in their separated forms.

She is very quick and nimble, and this skill has helped her narrowly avoid disaster on multiple occasions. She possesses slightly-above-average strength, able to push and pull and even lift heavier objects than most. Despite this, she lacks skills in hand-to-hand combat, as seen numerous times in the Golden Soul manga. She also seems to only have average stamina, as she tires out after most major battles and usually most rest for a time before returning to battle.

The Soul Gauntlets further increase Meri's abilites. Again, the first is obtained along with the Alpha Soulblade and the second with the Omega Soulblade. The light gauntlet allows her to store multiple tools and objects by transforming them into light and absorbing them into itself so it can be summoned for later use. Both increase Meri's stamina and physical strength. The light gauntlet makes Meri more durable, able to withstand far more damage than most humans thanks to its magic. Dark magic has next to no effect on Meri thanks to this protection, and the shadow gauntlet even lets Meri absorb blasts of this magic and launch them back at her opponent through the Omega Soulblade or Blade of Legends.

Concept Art

Trivia

Merideth appears to have been inspired by Link from the Legend of Zelda franchise. Both characters wear green, wield a sword and shield (though the shield is temporarily replaced by the Omega Soulblade), and are tied into some sort of legend.

Additionally, both Meri and Link use their left hand. However, Link is solely left-handed (save for a few titles) whereas Meri is ambidextrous and usually uses her right hand.

Merideth's current voice actor, Stephanie Sheh, has also voiced several characters in the English dubs of various anime, such as Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon, Nui Harume from Kill la Kill, Yui from Sword Art Online, among others.